William w



w. w. WHIDDIT.

Flax Brake.

Patented May 28, 1867.

4 [nre/Zim @uiten gisten strit @fitta WILLIAM W. WI-IIDDIT, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA.

Letters Patent No. 65,319, dated May 28, 1867.

MACHINE I'OR CLEANING FLAX.

"Q'tlgc Stimuli maar in iii-Hirst rtters ttntt mit mating gmt nf tige simi.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. WHIDDIT, of the city of Richmond, county of Wayne, and State of Indiana, have invented anew and useful improvement in Machines for Cleaning Flax, the.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Y Figure 1 is a perspective view.

Figure 2, a transverse section.

Figure 3, a perpendicular view of the machine; and

Figure 4, a section of the same.

The same letters in diiferent figures relate to corresponding parts of the machine.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a machine for cleaning fax, rags, Anc., in such a manner that said machine is automatically opened and closed at regular intervals, retaining the material in the enclosed structure until cleaned, and in turn opened until the olea-ned material is ejected, the hopper by which the machine is fed acting automatically, in concert with the opening and closing process of the machine, by which it is reversed alternately, to receive the material, and again to deposit thesame in the machine, the result of which arrangement is compara-tive simplicity and cheapness in construction, and convenience and eflieiency in its operation.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. I

H, fig. 1, represents the structure, made substantial, and in a form usual for similar purposes. The portion of the structure above the beams e and e is detachable, givingaccess tothe interior of the machine. I represents the cylinder, provided with spikes or teeth J, J, and C, and`is octagonal in shape, excepting its ends, which are circular, and larger in circumference than the intervening portion, to prevent the material being cleaned from clogging the journals, said journals having their suitable bearings, as indicated by y, iig. 1, on which the cylinder rotates. B represents a reversible hopper, situated in a recess in the top of the structure, said recess having an opening at the bottom, communicating with the interior of the machine, as shown at y, fig. 2. Said hopper is semi-cylindrical in form, and is constructed by nailing or otherwise securing sheet metal to the circular wooden end disks a and a', and has its bearings on journals m and m. C represents a loose grooved pulley on the end of journal m. D represents a ratchet-wheel, attached to the side of the machine, and working with suiiicient friction to prevent its moving without powerbeing applied. L represents a door for closing the tail oi" the machine, said door being hinged at its inner edge, and connected by cords x and :1: with the hopper, as shown in figs. 1 and 2. P, figs. 3 and 4, represents a sliding-catch, having curved arms R and R', and works through a slot or aperture in the supporting rod or bar tt, and extends into a cavity in the end of the hopper. S represents a cam or diagonal projection on the ratchet-wheel.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The power is applied to the cylinder by means of a pulley or other driving device attached to shaft g, and the cylinder made to revolve rapidly. The hopper, as shown in fig. I, is in position to receive the material to be cleaned. Amoderate motion is imparted to loose pulley e by a cord connecting it with pulley f on the cylinder-shaft. At each revolution of pulley c the pin n on said pulley comes in contact with and turns the ratchet-whee1D a short dista-nce. At each alternate revolution of the ratchet-wheel the cam S comes in contact with the inner edge oi' the point of arm R, thus moving the slide or catch P outward until caught by lug o on pulley c, by which operation the hopper is reversed, emptying its' contents into the machine, and by which operation the door L is also drawn up by cords :v and 9:, as indicated by dotted lines, fig. 2. Thus the machine is entirely closed. As the hopper nears its reversed position the point ot' arm R. is caught by the staple or device W, which slides catch P back, releasing it from lug o. The detent T, which is pivoted and operated by a spring, V, serves to catch the hopper at a notch in its end, and hold said hopper in its reversed position. This position of the machine is maintained while the ratchet-wheel makes another revolution, and the enclosed material is being operated on by the cylinder, and thc shives of iiax or refuse part of the material thrown out through the concave, which latter is composed of slats, having sufficient interstices for that purpose, as shown at K K, iig. 2. When the ratchet-wheel has completed another revolution the cam S is brought in contactwith detent T, as 4shown in iig. 4, by which operation the hopper is released, and the weight of door L reverses it to its former position to he again filled, and the machine is thus opened at door L, allowing the cleaned material to be ejected during the time of another revolution of the ratchet-wheel, and thus the machine is made to alternate between the two positions. l

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, s-

1. Constructing a machine for cleaning flax, 5to., with a door, L, or its equivalent, by which said machine is closed, and the material confined until cleaned, substantially as set forth.

2. The octagonal-shaped cylinder I, having liangcd ends, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

3. The reversible hopper B, operating on journals, substantially as described and for the purpose specied.

4. The arrangement and joint operation of hopper B and door L, substantially as set forth.

5. Loose pulley c, provided with pin n and lugz,y o, (or their equivalents,) wheel D, (either with or without teetln) provided with cam S, (the latter either permanently attached or adjnstable,) in combination with slide P, detent T, and device W, all arranged substantially as set forth and for the purposes specified.

WM. W. WHIDDIT.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH RIDGE, WM. R. WEBSTER. 

